


Like a Thief in the Night

by Kitty514



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: M/M, millionaire!harry, thief!Eggsy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 10:52:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5583067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitty514/pseuds/Kitty514
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eggsy is caught trying to steal from millionaire Harry, but instead of turning Eggsy over to the police he offers him a job.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Offering and an Offer

The library was quiet when Eggsy entered it. It was dimly lit, the orange light casting large shadows across the shelves and shelves of books. Scattered through the vast library were statues and paintings and vases that cost more on their own than Eggsy could ever hope to make in lifetime. The whole room smelled like old paper and spice. He wouldn’t mind sitting in here on a cold day, curled up on the plush couch in the middle of the room with a book.

He grimaced and shook out his right hand instead. One of the guards standing outside the library door had put up a bigger fight than Eggsy expected. Thankfully there had only been two guards and the first one went down easily. 

He made his way to the far end of the room quickly, his boots silent on the deep carpet. Even the carpet must cost more than Eggsy could imagine. He walked up to a vase placed primly on top of a tall pedestal. The vase was made of a pure white porcelain. Light pink magnolias were painted along the sides. Gold extravagantly embellished the outlines of the flowers and made up the handles of the vase. 

Eggsy had the expensive vase in his gloved hands, was turning around to make his way out of the mansion quickly. An audible click made him freeze mid-turn, however. He swore inwardly at his stupidity. He should have known better than to think he wouldn’t run into any more guards than the ones he knocked out in front of the library door. 

“Put the vase back where it came from and turn around. Don’t try reaching for your gun.” Came the command from behind him. 

Eggsy inhaled sharply and reached forward to replace the vase. He set it down carefully, then turned towards the voice slowly. It wasn’t a guard in front of him, but none other than Harry Hart. The Harry Hart who owned this whole mansion, owned more money than Eggsy could ever dream of. He was wrapped up in a richly red robe, looking disheveled with his hair curling around his face in the only way bed-head could achieve. And he was aiming a gun at Eggsy’s head. Eggsy was royally screwed now. There was no way he was going to get out of here scot-free. 

“How many people do you have with you?” Harry demanded. The gun never once waivered in his hands, blocking off most of Harry’s face. 

Eggsy puts his hands up, trying to look non-threatening. “It’s just me. No one else.” 

“You got in here all on your own? How did you get past my guards and security system?” 

For a moment, Eggsy considered his options. “If I tell you, will you let me go?” It was worth a try. 

Harry scoffed, the gun dropping lower to point at Eggsy’s torso. “I won’t shoot you in the head, how about that?” 

Eggsy winced, shrugging. “I guess that is better. I, uh… Your guards are dumb, to be honest. I was able to slip past all of them when they were changing positions- except for the two outside the door, who I knocked out. As for your security system, I smashed it.” 

Harry raised a questioning eyebrow at him, managing to look both deadly and elegant at the same time. 

A sigh escaped from Eggsy’s lips. “You rich people always invest in such high-tech security, but that shit is the easiest to break. Just take a swing at it with something heavy,” here he imitated swinging at the security system box with a metal pipe like he had a few minutes ago, “and bang, it’s broken. When you posh twats are gonna learn that it just doesn’t work, I don’t know.” Eggsy crossed his arms and cocked a hip, gazing over at Harry in a challenging manner. If he was going to jail, he had no reason to be nice. 

The gun in Harry’s hands lowered until it was pointing at the ground. Eggsy shifted uncomfortably, losing a bit of his confidence. Was he going to let him go? Call the police? Harry sighed as if he had given up, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

“Do you want to have a cup of tea with me?” Harry asked. 

Eggsy’s mouth fell open. “What?” 

“Tea. Do you want some?” Harry stated it as if he had never caught Eggsy about to steal from him. 

“Uhh. Sure?” Eggsy let his arms fall back down to his sides. 

Harry nodded knowingly, as if he too understood the absurdity of the situation. He backed up and exited the room. Eggsy croaked gently. He could escape now, while Harry was out of sight. He could just jump out the window. It wasn’t the best plan but it wasn’t the worst. In the end, Eggsy’s feet carried him in the same direction as Harry, who was waiting at the top of the stairs. 

Eggsy followed Harry down the stairs, past a group of guards. He saw Harry glare at them, directing a pointed look at Eggsy. It was clear Eggsy wasn’t here for a regular visit. He was dressed in all black, a gun pressing into the small of his back. The guards noticed and almost immediately had the decency to seem embarrassed. 

Harry led Eggsy into the kitchen, pulling out a kettle. “Sit down.” He said, gesturing with the kettle towards the kitchen counter. 

Eggsy pulled out a stool, sitting down warily. He glanced around him. The kitchen was more modern than the library. Metal appliances and dark marble countertops made up a large majority of the room. Eggsy pulled off his gloves and spread his hands out on the cool countertop. He didn’t realize Harry was sitting across from him until he cleared his throat. 

“I don’t think you could steal the counter on your own.” Harry joked. 

Against his better judgement, Eggsy quirked a grin in Harry’s direction. “Don’t underestimate my ambition.” Then his grin fell. “You didn’t, like, call the police by pressing some fucking button and now you’re just trying to stall for time?” 

Harry huffed out a small laugh. “No. You’re safe for now.” He paused, studying Eggsy for a few seconds. “How old are you? 23? 24?” 

“23.” Eggsy responded. 

“Why is someone as young as you stealing from rich asses like me? You seem intelligent and capable of holding a good job.” Harry stood up to take the kettle off the stove as it started to screech. 

As Harry poured them both a cup of tea, Eggsy considered him. For someone who had been rudely awakened at two in the morning by a thief, he seemed oddly calm. Almost understanding. Most of the rich people he had met at parties he had snuck into would drone on to him about how amazing they were, how much money they had, all the placed they had been and things they bought. Professionally, this was good for Eggsy to be able to judge which ones he was willing to rob. Not professionally, these people were huge dicks. 

Even though he had just met this man, Harry didn’t seem anything like those people. There was something different about him. This was why, when Harry reached across the counter to hand him the mug full of tea, Eggsy decided to tell him the truth. 

“I’m not doing this for me.” He began. “I’m doing it for my mom and little sister. They deserve better than they have. And it would take me so much longer to give them that by trying to hold a- ahem, legal- job. Nothing pays as much as I need to get them out of their situation.” Eggsy tightened his grip on the mug, the heat burning into the palms of his hands. 

Harry stared at him from across the counter for a while. Then he took his watch off of his wrist and held it out in front of him. It dangled in front of Eggsy, glinting gold in the stark kitchen light. Eggsy averted his gaze from the watch, furrowing his brow at Harry. 

“I have an offer for you.” Harry said, his voice lowering conspiratorially. Eggsy leaned forward slightly. “You can take this watch, which costs at least one hundred thousand pounds. I won’t call the police on you, I won’t try and hunt you down in any way. I won’t want to see you ever again.” He paused, letting Eggsy take in the information. “Or you can come and work for me. As a bodyguard, as security. I’ll pay you fifty thousand pounds right off the bat and then a thousand pounds a week. If you want the job, just tell me your name and I’ll take it as a ‘yes.’” 

Eggsy glanced between Harry and the watch, weighing both options. He could use the money either way. But a stable job with stable money seemed like a dream. He wouldn’t have to worry about going to jail and not being able to be there for his mom or Daisy. Could it really be true? Eggsy licked his lips, tapping his fingers on the side of the mug, making small scratching sounds. Then he stopped, looking Harry straight in the eye, who smirked as if he knew what was coming. 

“Eggsy. My name is Eggsy, you posh twat.” 


	2. Open Doors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eggsy gets introduced to his new job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's not a lot of action in this chapter, it's more just introducing and establishing characters, so I hope it's not too boring. Thanks for reading!

Eggsy arrived back at Harry’s house- or really, mansion- on a Sunday morning, using the front door this time. A bald man answered the door, looking at him with what was close to disdain. The man jerked his chin toward the inside of the mansion. Eggsy took it as an invitation to come inside, so he did.

In the morning light, the house looked so much more different. Bright rays of sun were filtering into the foyer, bouncing off of the dark but shiny wood furniture and staircase. The table in the middle of the floor had a vase holding a bouquet of yellow roses. When Eggsy inched closer to the vase, he realized that it was the same one he had tried to steal a couple nights ago. He scoffed and shook his head at the blatant jab at him. 

“Harry is in the office upstairs. Just turn right and it’s the second door on the left. Though you probably already know that, seeing how you tried to steal from us and all.” The man who had opened the door said from behind Eggsy. He had a tablet out, working on something. He mumbled something under his breath that sounded close to a question as to why Harry would want to hire someone like Eggsy. Eggsy chose to ignore the remarks. 

“What’s your name?” Eggsy asked out of curiosity, instead. 

“…Merlin.” He responded. He didn’t even look up from the tablet, light reflecting softly off of his glasses. 

Eggsy nodded, tilting his head up slightly to examine him for a moment. He couldn’t think of why someone would name their child that; it was probably a fake name. But this Merlin seemed way more uptight than Harry had been, so Eggsy wasn’t surprised that the man didn’t want to interact much with him. He most likely was trying not to waste any more time than necessary with Eggsy. 

Eggsy blew air out his nose and headed for the stairs, leaving Merlin behind. He climbed them two at a time, his sneakers squeaking on the polished wood of the steps. When he reached the correct door, he couldn’t help but glance at the double-doors that marked the library’s entrance two doors down. Eggsy paused to knock twice. A few seconds passed, and then a voice told him to come in. 

A rush of cool air brushed against Eggsy’s face as he swung the door open. The office was well-lit and held a large desk made of the same dark wood as the downstairs furniture. There were shelves of books in here, too, but it smelled different than the library. Here, the faint scent of expensive cologne lingered in the air and in the richly green carpet underfoot. Harry was sitting behind the desk, a pen perched in the crook of his hand. He was looking up at Eggsy through a pair of glasses he hadn’t been wearing when the two of them met. 

“Eggsy, please sit.” Harry gestured to one of the chairs in front of the desk. 

Eggsy complied, feeling somewhat out of his element. He’d dealt with rich people before, been in their houses and stole right from under their noses in the daytime. But this wasn’t what he was here for this time, and it definitely felt odd. Eggsy wringed his hands together as Harry shuffled around some papers. 

“How are you today?” Harry asked as he stuffed the papers into a large envelope. 

“Uh.” Eggsy shook his head. “Excuse me if I don’t care much for pleasantries, yeah? I just wanna know what I’m gonna be doing in this ‘job’ you offered.” 

Harry raised an eyebrow at him, tilting his head slightly to the side before standing up from the desk. “Follow me, then.” He brushed past the chair Eggsy was sitting in, heading for the door. He was wearing a gray suit that unsurprisingly fit him perfectly. Harry had longer legs than he remembered. It was distracting to watch him walking. Eggsy’s breath was taken away for a moment before he snapped back into focus. He quickly stood up to follow Harry, almost knocking the chair over in the process. Harry led the two of them to the library. 

Eggsy scratched his cheek nervously. “What’re we doing in here? About to make fun of me for not being able to steal from you?” He partially joked. 

Harry huffed out a small laugh, a gentle smile passing over his face briefly. “No. Though if you do pick up stealing again, I would suggest being quieter. I could hear you fighting my guards from the office.” 

The remark Eggsy had been about to say died in his throat when Harry smirked at him coyly. Eggsy swallowed hard instead. Harry slid a hand across a row of books before taking one and pulling it toward him. A sharp click resounded through the large library, and one of the bookshelves swung out. 

“Are you fucking with me.” Eggsy said flatly. “I can’t believe you have a fucking hidden room. Scratch that, I actually can believe it.” He pushed past Harry to examine the room that had just been revealed. Inside, there was only a big metal safe. Eggsy’s head swiveled toward Harry, giving him a severely confused expression. 

A shrug was directed back in his direction. “It’s trust.” Harry simply said. 

“You’re gonna trust me with this information? You just met me, _and_ when I was stealing from you.” Eggsy paused, thrown off. 

Harry just adjusted his cufflinks, glancing up at Eggsy. Eggsy took hold of the bookshelf and pushed it back into place, the hinges clicking loudly as it closed. He took a deep breath. 

“Your job,” Harry finally said, “is going to be to help protect me and, in turn, my house. To do so, you should know its secrets. You took out my two best men outside the library doors. I’ve had them working for me for years and they’ve never let me down. They’ve taken down men much bigger than you. But you took both of them down in seconds. I’m going to put my faith in you. I want you by my side.” 

It would be an understatement to say that Eggsy wanted to simply scream. He wanted to throw a tantrum, really. This man he barely knew, who could have killed him when they first met, was telling Eggsy that he wanted his protection. Eggsy had to use all his self-control not to throw something old and expensive. 

“Roxy, my personal assistant, will be briefing you on everything you need to know.” Harry said. “She’ll be downstairs in the kitchen. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have business to attend to.” He started toward the double-doors. 

“What is this?” Eggsy blurted out, his brow furrowing. “Is this some kind of prank? You can’t seriously be giving a job like this to someone like me. I’m nothing. A fucking criminal. You just showed me where you keep your safe, for shit’s sake.” 

“How do you know there’s even anything in the safe?” Harry winked at Eggsy. “I wouldn’t keep Roxy waiting, if I were you. You’ve got a job to start after all. An actual job, too. Not a prank.” With that, he disappeared around the corner. 

Eggsy doubled over, catching his knees in his hands. He felt close to hyperventilating. He had to remind himself that he had been the one to accept the job offer in the first place. He could have just taken the watch and run, but no. 

Eggsy gulped in another breath of air before straightening up again. He navigated the corridors back to the kitchen. He paused in the doorway, spotting a young woman sitting at the counter who was working on a tablet similar to Merlin’s. She had her hair pulled up into a tight ponytail, and was dressed sharply in a navy blue suit. She had a delicate face, framing her plump lips and well-groomed eyebrows. She was beautiful. 

“Hey.” Eggsy said, grabbing her attention. “You Roxy?” 

“Yes, I am. You must be Eggsy” Roxy stood up and came over to shake Eggsy’s hand. “Please, sit.” She nodded to one of the stools, then sat back down in the same spot she had been in when Eggsy had arrived. 

“Is everyone in this place gorgeous?” Eggsy let slip out before he stammered to talk over himself. 

Roxy smiled genuinely, holding up a hand to stop him. “First of all, thank you. Second of all, yes, the other people here are pretty. You’ll have to find a way to fit in, huh?” She joked. 

Eggsy chuckled, his nerves settling some. He liked Roxy already, and made it a personal mission to become friends with her. He was going to need someone to keep him sane with this job. 

“So,” Roxy began, “I guess I’ll be explaining things to you. I assume Harry told you that you’d be a bodyguard. Basically, you’ll accompany Harry wherever he goes. He’s an important and influential person, meaning many people are out to try to win him over as well as try to take him down. You’ll be at the house promptly at 7 in the morning each day. You’ll leave when you’re told it’s okay to leave. Show us you can do your job, and do it well, and you may just get a raise. Good incentive, right?” Roxy flashed him a brilliant smile. “Got everything so far?” 

Eggsy nodded, not able to find any words. 

Roxy nodded, as well. “Alright. Here’s some paperwork to sign, just for legal reasons. Get it back to me tomorrow morning. I’ll be in the downstairs office. You’ll be able to find it easily- if you don’t already have the layout of the house memorized.” Here she winked at Eggsy, making him blush in embarrassment. “And here’s a binder with papers detailing what’s expected of you as well as Harry’s schedule. No one else is to see any of this. No one can know who you work for, either. Safety reasons, you know?” She handed him the papers and binder. “Harry has a meeting to attend tomorrow at 8 a.m., so be prepared before then.” Roxy stood up, making to leave the kitchen. She paused by Eggsy, squeezing his shoulder gently. “Don’t let anyone get to you, alright? I know there are people here who sneered at Harry hiring a criminal to protect him, but I’m on his- and your- side.” 

Eggsy watched as she left, grasping everything he had been given tightly in his hands. He set it down on the counter, unfurling his fingers slowly. He finally opened the binder after a few minutes, concentrating on how not to get fired and lose so much money. 


	3. Sweet as Sugar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning that there are mentions of abuse in this chapter.

Eggsy arrived at Harry’s house five minutes early. Merlin had answered the door, and Eggsy attempted to make light conversation with him. It had worked for a small while, Merlin seeming somewhat in a better mood. But it soon fell through when Merlin’s tablet dinged with the sound of an email. Eggsy quickly excused himself to avoid standing in awkward silence as Merlin checked his email.

Eggsy had dressed in the nicest clothes he owned, which meant a white button-down shirt, dark gray trousers, and a pair of black dress shoes that used to belong to his late father. He had stayed up late into the night reading the binder he had been given, trying his hardest to memorize everything that seemed important. Harry was apparently a very busy man, having meetings at what seemed every thirty minutes. This job was going to be exhausting. 

When he found Roxy on a laptop in the downstairs office- much smaller and less used than the upstairs one- he handed her the signed paperwork. She took it graciously and told him to wait outside by the car for Harry. 

The car outside was definitely expensive, and had to cost more than Eggsy would consider sensible. It was black and shinier than anything Eggsy had ever laid eyes on. It almost gave him a headache. He tried to curve the headache back by smoothing down his shirt, trying to keep it tucked into his pants. 

The sound of gravel crunching underfoot pulled Eggsy’s eyes up and to Harry. Of course, Harry seemed like he could kill with his looks yet again, his suit the same dark gray as Eggsy’s pants. His hair fell perfectly into place, the curl in it tamed back. Eggsy wanted to swear out loud, but bit his tongue instead. 

Harry took one look at Eggsy and sighed. “After today, we’re going to get you nicer clothes.” Then he got into the car, followed by a driver ducking into it as well. Harry raised an eyebrow at Eggsy, waiting for him to get in as well. 

Eggsy made an incoherent noise before sitting next to Harry and closing the car door. “Sorry I don’t have as much money as you do.” 

“That’s not- I didn’t mean-” Harry paused for a second, frowning. “I know. Just do your job well today and I’ll give you the fifty thousand pounds I promised you.” 

Eggsy tapped his fingers on his right knee as the car pulled out of the huge circle driveway. “So is this some kind of sugar daddy kink?” He fought back a smirk when Harry made a choking sound next to him. “’Cause if it is, I need to know. I’m totally willing to make that relationship work, yeah?” 

“God, no.” Harry blurted out. “You’re my employee not-not-” 

Laughter bubbled up from Eggsy’s throat. “Calm down, Har. I’m only kidding.” He rested a foot up on the top of the seat in front of him. “Though keep the sugar daddy thing in mind because I wouldn’t reject that offer.” He winked at Harry. 

Harry cleared his throat, his face flushed, and pulled Eggsy’s leg back down. “Don’t make me fire you before you actually start this job.” 

*** 

Harry Hart of course owned a company appropriately named Hart, Inc. It was the biggest investment company around. The building the company was run in was at least fifteen stories high, if not more, the many windows reflecting the sun back to the pedestrians outside. The meeting was held in a large modern room with a large wooden table in the center. A window on the back wall overlooked the city below. 

Eggsy stood by this window, gazing out at the twenty or so people mulling about or sitting at the table. Everyone was dressed impeccably, of course. Eggsy sighed quietly, training his eye back onto Harry, who was shaking hands with an older woman. Harry discreetly checked his watch a while later before excusing himself from the conversation with the woman and another younger man who had walked up. He made his way to the head of the table by Eggsy. 

“Your wallet is missing.” Eggsy whispered to him, pointing his chin in the direction of the younger man he had been engaged in conversation with. Eggsy moved towards the man, bumping into him with a shoulder. He apologized, smoothing out the young man’s jacket front and kept moving toward the water jug to pour a glass. When Eggsy returned back to the head of the table, he placed the glass in front of Harry and quickly placed the stolen wallet back into his jacket pocket. 

Harry gave Eggsy an almost unnoticeable nod before calling the meeting to a start. Though Eggsy knew little of what was being discussed, he didn’t mind having time to size up everyone present as he stood behind Harry. If he needed to fall back onto thievery, some of these people would be great targets. He would love to steal from the younger man who tried to take Harry’s wallet. 

When the meeting ended, and all the people dispersed, Eggsy watched in amusement as the thief realized he didn’t have Harry’s wallet anymore. A look of panic spread across his face and the man glanced into the meeting room. Eggsy gave him a huge grin, and the man glared at him in turn. “Thank you.” Harry said, turning his body toward Eggsy but looking out into the office space. “I’ve never liked that guy, and now I have a reason to fire him.” 

“Just part of my job.” Eggsy responded. He sat on the edge of the conference table, one leg swinging lazily. “Now I see what you mean about my clothes. I knew _you_ were posh as fuck, but I didn’t know the rest of your employees were, too.” 

Harry tilted his head, one corner of his mouth tilting up. “I’ll send you to my tailor at the end of today. You don’t have to use the fifty thousand pounds to pay for the new suits. I’ll pay for them myself, no deduction to your paycheck.” 

Eggsy breathed in deep. “There’s no need for that, Har. I-” 

“No,” Harry interrupted him, “use the money I give you for your family.” With that, he headed for the door, holding it open for Eggsy. 

*** 

The tailor Harry sent Eggsy to occupied a small but high-end shop called ‘Kingsman’. Eggsy scoffed at the name but tried to be polite as possible to the tailor behind the counter. The man took him into a fitting room to quickly measure him before ushering him out the door with a promise to have the suits made by the end of the week. 

Eggsy stumbled out onto the street, the sun close to setting in the dark orange sky. He paused for a moment, not quite sure what to do with himself. He had never felt so lost before. It had been years since he had had a real job instead of thieving his way through life. Today had been meeting after meeting, everything blurring together. Harry was much nicer to work with than Eggsy expected. He was understanding and perceptive, reading people fairly well. Eggsy appreciated it, a fondness growing for Harry that he was trying to push down for reasons he wasn’t willing to work out just yet. 

He was tired, so tired, and a bed seemed like heaven now. Eggsy’s feet started to carry him home subconsciously. 

The apartment he lived in with his mom, sister, and that dickwad, Dean, his mom had married was silent. It relieved him and made him seize up at the same time. Eggsy stood frozen in the doorway until he noticed an envelope on the kitchen table. He moved to pick it up, reading his name written across it in a flowy script that could have belonged to anyone in the Hart household. He ripped the envelope open, gripping the check that was in it hard. Fifty thousand pounds were in his hand right now. 

Eggsy started shaking, every muscle in his body tense. It took a second for him to realize he was crying. He didn’t care how Harry had found out where he lived when he didn’t even know his real name. All he cared about was getting out of this shithole with his sister and mom. 

At that moment, his mom walked through the door, holding Daisy up on her hip. She immediately saw Eggsy crying and concern overtook her features. 

“Eggsy, what…?” She asked. Daisy reached toward his face, confused as to why he was crying, as well. 

“We’re getting out of here, mom. Away from Dean, okay?” Eggsy handed her the check, watching as her eyes widened in understanding. 

“How did you get this?” She asked, waving the piece of paper in front of him. The piece of paper that could change their lives. 

He took the check from her gently. “I got a job.” Eggsy said simply. “It doesn’t matter what it is. In a few days, I’m moving us away from here, and that’s what matters. I won’t let Dean hurt any of us again.” He stuffed the check into his pocket, opening the front door. “I’m going to the bank. I’ll be back soon.” 

*** 

When Eggsy arrived back at Harry’s house the next day, he couldn’t help but feel nervous. This man had just given him and his family a chance to escape from a shitty situation. It didn’t help that Dean had come home drunk off his ass and angry as fuck last night. The bruises along Eggsy’s arm and the largest one along his jaw were a testament to that. Harry didn’t need to know any of that, though. 

Harry glanced up at Eggsy as he entered his upstairs office. He had been working on his laptop, typing away quietly on the keys. “Did you receive the check I sent yesterday?” 

Eggsy opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a sob. Harry’s eyes widened and he stood up quickly. Eggsy nodded his head, not trusting himself to speak just yet. He covered his mouth with a hand, knowing he looked utterly ridiculous at the moment. 

Harry approached Eggsy cautiously, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright?” Eggsy knew he could see the bruise on his jaw, already a dark purple. 

Eggsy drew in a shaky breath. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” He said, his voice breaking a little. He wiped at his eyes quickly, trying to stall back the tears. “Thank you, Harry. Thank you.” 


	4. Hit Me in the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A warning for some violence and blood in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out a tad bit longer, but hopefully that's okay.

It was exactly a week later that Eggsy realized how different his life had become. He had found an apartment far away from Dean, moving his family and himself to it on a day that Dean was gone at the pub. It was small, but clean and in a better neighborhood. He and his mom maneuvered their secondhand furniture up the narrow staircase to the third floor, arranging and rearranging it until everything looked just right. It felt like home with him and Daisy and his mom sinking into the couch in peace. For once, Eggsy could feel some of his stress disappearing as he settled into the new apartment.

The suits came next, three of them. The tailor called him to come to the shop on a Saturday morning, one where Harry wasn’t working. Eggsy took the suits, expressing his gratitude. The tailor waved him off, saying something about it being no big deal. When Harry saw him in one of the new suits- a navy blue one with faint stripes and shiny silver buttons and cufflinks, matched with a red silk tie- an odd expression passed over his face before being masked by a smile. 

“Looks good.” Harry said simply, averting his gaze back to a sheet of paper on the desk. The paper crinkled audibly as he picked it up in his hand 

“I guess you could say the new clothes ‘suit’ me.” Eggsy replied with a cheeky grin, brushing off Harry’s weird look as no big deal. He chuckled at Harry’s defeated sigh, picking up and moving a stack of books laying on a chair. Eggsy sat down heavily, limbs splayed out in all directions. 

After their emotional encounter over the check, things had been awkward for a couple days. Eggsy knew he was here for the money, but it was all still so surreal to him. He couldn’t help but fear that Harry would suddenly decide to drop him, that he wasn’t needed. God knows Eggsy wasn’t professional around Harry. He just couldn’t bring himself to grovel at the feet of the upper class. It went against everything he stood for. 

It was getting easier to be around Harry, though. They were sliding into a routine, with Eggsy meeting Harry in his home office in the morning and acting as bodyguard through the day. Harry was respectful of Eggsy’s time, never staying too late at the investment office so that Eggsy could spend time with his mom and sister. 

Today went just as smooth as any day when they left the house. The meetings all blurred into one, as they tended to do. Eggsy almost couldn’t see why Harry needed a bodyguard at the office; it’s not like anyone was lunging at his throat with a pen. 

Eggsy lounged on the couch in Harry’s office at the end of the day, balancing one of those fancy pens on his nose. Harry sat behind his desk, typing up a report on his computer. The investment office was cold grays and shining glass, giving off the mood of a cutthroat business. Even the waxed tiled floor had a threatening quality to it. Eggsy wasn’t a fan of it, felt like it didn’t fit Harry at all. Harry was all warm colors and musky scents, almost comfortable and safe. Everything like the office in his house, but nothing like the office here. 

The glass door- a bulletproof door, Eggsy recalled faintly from the binder he had read from- to Harry’s office swung open silently. Eggsy sat up quickly at the movement in the corner of his eye, catching the pen in his hand as it fell from his face. A janitor was wheeling in a cleaning cart, seemingly oblivious to the two other men in the room. Eggsy stood up and dropped the pen, instinctively placing himself between the janitor and Harry. Which was good for Harry because the janitor pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Eggsy’s chest. 

“Are you fucking me.” Eggsy said, resisting the want to roll his eyes. He pulled out the gun resting against the small of his back swiftly as he said it, pointing it at the man who had just intruded. 

Eggsy heard a click behind him. He glanced back over his shoulder quickly. Harry had a gun in his hand, too, which almost made Eggsy sigh in relief. Of course he would have a gun in his office. Harry was much more dangerous than people gave him credit for. 

“It’s two against one, bruv. Might want to rethink your plan.” Eggsy stated. He could see a vein popping out on the man’s forehead. But no one moved. 

Eggsy caught the quick movement of the ‘janitor’s’ finger pulling the pistol’s trigger. Eggsy turned his body to the side, the bullet hitting him in the left shoulder. Too close to his chest, to his heart, he thought. He raised his own gun back up, firing at the man. Two bullets hit the intruder- one in the chest and the other in the stomach. Harry must have fired a bullet as well, Eggsy thought briefly as he watched the fake janitor hit the floor hard. 

Eggsy approached the man cautiously, gun held in front of him. Blood pooled out around his torso, the dark red a strong contrast against the white floor. He wasn’t moving. Eggsy kicked the man’s gun away, then turned to Harry. 

“You alright?” Eggsy asked. 

Harry nodded jerkily. “Your shoulder, though.” 

Eggsy looked down at his left shoulder, his mind finally processing the pain over the adrenaline. The stain of blood was slowly growing larger, sliding down his arm warmly. Eggsy placed his gun on Harry’s desk. He gripped his shoulder hard, trying to slow down the blood. He winced as the pain increased, his right hand coming away covered with more blood. Black and beige dotted Eggsy’s vision. He leaned forward, gripping the edge of Harry’s glass desk. 

“I’ll call an ambulance.” Harry rushed to say, grabbing his phone and dialing the police. As he talked to the dispatcher, he pulled out the handkerchief from his jacket pocket and held it to Eggsy’s shoulder, worry present in his eyes. 

*** 

Eggsy was semi-conscious as he was wheeled into the hospital. It was the nice hospital that rich people went to, too, Eggsy noted in the back of his mind. The one that got all the funding. He almost asked to go to another hospital, one where he might actually have a chance of paying the medical bills, but words seemed to stick in his mouth like rancid peanut butter. He was fully unconscious by the time he entered surgery. 

*** 

When Eggsy woke up, the room he was in was brightly lit and the sterile white of typical hospital rooms. It hurt to look at. Someone was speaking to him, brushing hair off of his forehead. Eggsy blinked a few more times before everything came into focus. It was Harry by his bedside. 

“Your mom left to get some rest.” Harry was saying. “I’ll call and tell her you’re awake.” He stood up, pulling out his phone. 

Eggsy grabbed his wrist weakly. Harry froze, looking at him expectantly. One side of his hair was flattened down as if he had been sleeping with his head turned to that side. It pulled at something inside Eggsy. But Eggsy still couldn’t form words quite yet, so he let go instead and gave Harry a slight nod. Harry took it as a sign to continue calling his mom. He barely registered that Harry and his mom must have met, the Harry now had his mom’s number before he drifted back off to sleep. 

*** 

Eggsy was up and moving a couple weeks later, even though his mom kept telling him to rest. He was tired of sitting in bed, though. Apparently the janitor that attacked them was a hired hit-man. Eggsy had scoffed at the information when his mom delivered it, not at all surprised. At least the hit-man was handcuffed to his hospital bed, or so Eggsy was told. No police had come to question him yet. He didn't know for sure that Harry was behind the police not approaching him, but he had his suspicions. 

He just wanted to get back to work as soon as possible. If he still had a job when he was done with his recovery period. A bodyguard getting shot and winding up in the hospital didn’t bode well. What if someone already took over his job? Harry was a busy man. He wouldn’t want to wait a long time for Eggsy to come back, would he?

His mom was moving about the room as Eggsy pulled his clothes on, not so subtly shadowing him in case he passed out. He was silently thankful that it was his regular clothing, and not a suit. 

“Your boss,” his mom began, “Harry Hart, he’s a sweet man. He paid for the medical bills.” She said the last part quietly, as if knowing how Eggsy would react. 

“Shit.” Eggsy said a little too loudly. He turned to Daisy, who was coloring while sitting on the hospital bed. He pointed a finger at her. “Don’t repeat that word. It’s bad.” He turned back to his mom. “Are you kidding me? Why would he-” 

She interrupted him. “Are you really going to complain about it? He probably just saved us from a lifetime of debt.” She paused, deliberating something. “He really likes you, you know. He was really concerned about you.” 

Eggsy stammered for a second before closing his mouth with a snap. Harry took that opportune moment to enter the room. Eggsy’s mom raised her eyebrows at him before heading to exit the room with Daisy in tow. She planted a kiss to Harry’s cheek before leaving. Harry’s suit was slightly rumpled, his hair just ever so out of place. 

“Don’t tell me you’re friends with my mom. I thought this job was supposed to be secret. As in only I was supposed to know about it. Safety reasons, you know?” Eggsy crossed his arms as he mimicked Roxy’s phrase, trying not to wince at the tug on his shoulder. The bullet really had been too close to his heart, but hadn’t hit anything important. His doctor had made that comment to him when he had woken up. He was preparing himself for Harry to tell him that paying the medical bills was his final act of kindness before firing him. 

Harry opened his mouth, clearly surprised at Eggsy’s outburst. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you would have a problem with me meeting her. I just wanted to explain what happened to her. She looked so worried. I didn’t tell her everything, though. I told her you’re working in the accounting section.” 

Eggsy immediately felt like a dick. He let his arms fall to his sides. “I- I didn’t know. It’s just. I’m sorry, alright? You’ve done so much for me and my family, and I can’t tell you how thankful I am for that. But if you’re going to fire me, go ahead and do it. There’s no need to be nice to me anymore.” 

Harry’s eyes- had they always been that nice shade of brown?- widened a fraction. “I’m not going to fire you. If you want to quit, I won’t stop you, but I still want you to work for me. You may have saved my life in that office, and at the cost of your own health.” 

“I thought you would have hired someone else to replace me. I’ve been out for two weeks.” Eggsy swallowed hard, made difficult by the lump in his throat. He still had a job. 

“I hired a temporary replacement. I was just waiting for you to recover.” 

“I’m still out for two more weeks.” Eggsy’s fingers passed over the wound on his shoulder. “Not allowed to do anything strenuous until they’re sure I won’t accidentally reopen the wound and bleed to death.” 

Harry nodded. “I know. I just came to see you. I wanted to make sure you were doing fine.” He took a half-step towards Eggsy, then backed up again. Eggsy had never seen any type of indecisiveness in Harry before. 

“Why do you bother with me?” Eggsy asked softly. “Why am I worth any of your time? I’m replaceable. Always have been to other people.” 

Harry breathed in deep, meeting Eggsy’s eyes with a tender gaze. “You’re not replaceable to me. You’re special, Eggsy. Special to me. I need you to know that.” 

That was the first time Eggsy could remember his heart skipping a beat. 


	5. Food for Thought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Italian food is good. For the stomach and the soul.

It wasn’t easy for Eggsy to make himself get out of bed at six in the morning. He had kicked and flailed in the comfortable sheets for a few seconds before finally finding a way onto his feet. The sun was just barely peeking out from the tops of the apartment buildings. Eggsy sighed and pulled on one of his suits- dark grey similar to one Harry owned- swiftly to combat the cold air in his room. The navy suit he owned had been ruined by the bullet and the blood. Eggsy cringed at the loss of such expensive material.

Eggsy’s left hand tremored a bit as he arrived at Harry’s house a few minutes early. When Merlin answered the door, Eggsy tried to stuff down his anxiety. The two of them were on less shaky ground now since they had been emailing back and forth while Eggsy recovered. They had different senses of humor and different interests, to be sure, but there was a mutual respect between them. Merlin was a super genius with technology, in Eggsy’s opinion, and had been working on creating a better security system than the one Eggsy had destroyed. It was intriguing to see how Merlin was taking Eggsy’s ideas and experiences to create something advanced. He was like a wizard, which made his name so much more fitting. 

Merlin handed a key to Eggsy as he entered the foyer. “Harry wanted you to have a key to the house. That way I don’t have to get up from my chair and answer the door for your sorry ass anymore.” 

“Ah, yes, standing up is so much effort for you.” Eggsy grinned as he pocketed the key. “Thank you, Merlin.” 

The corner of Merlin’s mouth quirked up. “No problem. Now go do your job.” As Eggsy trotted up the stairs, he thought he heard Merlin say something about being relieved to have him back. 

Eggsy found Harry in the library. He was flipping through one of the books, his eyebrows pulled down low in concentration. Eggsy was caught in a trance, his breath stalling in his throat for a moment as he stared at him. Ever since they had talked in the hospital, Eggsy had started slowly going crazy. He couldn’t get thoughts of Harry out of his head. 

The way Harry had looked at him in the hospital, the way he had talked, it was all so new to Eggsy. No one had been so soft and sincere with him in years. He had hoped that spending two weeks away from Harry would help to suffocate his feelings of growing affection. Eggsy was trying so hard to not let it get to him, but it just wasn’t working. 

Now Eggsy was standing across the room from Harry and all he wanted to do was run away. But instead, he forced his feet to move forward, his heart beating hard. 

“What’s up, Har?” Eggsy tried to sound casual, succeeded for the most part. 

Harry looked up at him, his expression still caught in concentration. His face smoothed over when he realized who it was. “Nice to have you back, Eggsy.” A small smile spread across his face, one that felt like it was just for Eggsy. 

Well, shit. There went all of Eggsy’s composure. “It’s, uh, it’s nice to be back.” He stuttered, fighting down a blush. This was going to more difficult than he realized. 

*** 

Eggsy was sitting in the secluded booth next to Harry. It was dimly lit in the fancy- and he really meant fancy- Italian restaurant, darkness slowly settling outside the bay windows. Harry was here to meet with a colleague, but she hadn’t shown up yet. Eggsy glanced around the room, taking it in. The walls were painted deep reds and oranges, with paintings of various landscapes hanging on them. Small chandeliers hung over the dark wood tables, casting quiet shadows over each person seated at them. Waiters and waitresses bustled about the restaurant in impossibly white button-up shirts and black pants. 

Eggsy reached out and ran his fingers over the red rose perched in the glass vase on the table. “So… is it normal for this colleague of yours to be thirty minutes late?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at Harry. 

Harry sighed, smoothing out his suit jacket. He had on a light grey suit today, matched with a striped dark blue and yellow tie. “Sadly, yes. She never has been one to be on time.” He checked his watch quickly. “I haven’t eaten all day, though, so she’ll have to deal with us ordering food before she gets here.” 

Eggsy scoffed as Harry called over a waiter. They both ordered and then Eggsy sunk back into the plush cushion of the booth. He glanced over at Harry, studying his jawline. It wasn’t fair to be that handsome, but it definitely wasn’t okay for Eggsy to think that about his boss. Eggsy ducked his head, lightly scratching at a repeating pattern in the wooden table. 

“Are you doing alright?” Harry asked all of a sudden. 

Eggsy inhaled sharply, his head shooting back up. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He smiled weakly. 

The way Harry’s brow furrowed let Eggsy know that he didn’t believe him. “If you don’t feel well-” 

“Really, I’m fine. Just tired.” Eggsy watched as Harry’s mouth set into a thin line. But Harry didn’t push further, just nodded in response. 

The waiter returned with their food a minute later, placing each of their plates in front of them. Eggsy took the opportunity to stuff his mouth so that he didn’t have to talk. They ate in silence for a few minutes, Eggsy staring holes into his plate. Then Harry’s fork clattered onto his plate. Eggsy startled, gazing at Harry with a slight bit of incredulity. 

Harry was staring at Eggsy intently. His mouth twisted into a frown briefly before he spoke. “If you have a problem, whether it’s with me or someone else, you can tell me. I won’t be upset, and I won’t judge you.” 

Eggsy chewed his bottom lip. “It’s- you know what? Fuck this.” He threw down his fork as well, causing other customers to glance his way. He lowered his voice, fixing his gaze on Harry, whose eyes had widened in surprise. “As far as you’re concerned, I don’t have any problems right now. I’m trying to enjoy this super expensive seafood at the moment. But if you’re just as uncomfortable with the silence between us as I am, talk to me. I’ll tell you about my life, my dreams, whatever the fuck you wanna know. I just don’t-” 

“Tell me about your family.” Harry interrupted.

Eggsy froze for a second. “Sure. Sure, yeah.” He took a moment to collect himself, then began talking about his mom, his sister, his father. Eggsy had forgotten the last time he had even spoke of his dad, his real dad. It left a bittersweet taste in his mouth, but it felt good to get it out. Harry was attentive, nodding and interjecting questions every so often. The two of them talked easily about anything that came up. It felt comfortable between them. The conversation carried without ever becoming forced or repetitive. 

It wasn’t until Harry’s phone started ringing that Eggsy was snapped out of his haze. He glanced over at Harry’s watch as he answered the phone. It was almost ten at night, three hours since they had sat down in the restaurant. Eggsy had never talked to someone for such a long time before. It scared him, to be honest. It scared him a lot. His heart was beating hard and it took a large amount of control not to dash out of the restaurant. 

Harry was pocketing his phone now. “Well, that was my colleague’s assistant. I guess our third guest isn’t showing up.” He smiled jokingly, his eyes glittering playfully in the low light. 

Eggsy attempted to respond but only a small helpless noise escaped past his lips. He decided that was a good moment to stand up from the table. They had already paid for their food, so it was fine if Eggsy just faded from existence, right? But Harry had another idea as he grasped Eggsy’s shoulder- the right one- and grounded Eggsy back in the moment. 

“I guess it’s time to go home, huh?” Harry asked, leading Eggsy out of the restaurant. 

The cold air brushed against Eggsy’s cheeks, and he pulled in a few calming breaths. He blinked a couple times before regaining his composure. “Sorry about that. I panicked.” 

Harry opened his mouth to ask what he panicked about. But an older man bumped into him brashly, pushing Harry into Eggsy’s arms. 

“Hey, fucker, watch where you’re going!” Eggsy called out after him. The older man flipped him off without turning around. Eggsy made an angry sound close to a growl, tightening his grip on Harry’s waist. It was then that Eggsy processed everything. Harry pressed up close to Eggsy’s body, a familiar warmth between them. Eggsy hanging on for dear life to Harry, and Harry hanging on just as much. Their faces so close together. So very close. Eggsy could see the flecks of gold in Harry’s eyes and the subtle wrinkles on his face. 

Eggsy could feel Harry’s breath ghosting over his face, and it was intoxicating. Tempting. Eggsy’s lips twitched, but he averted his gaze from Harry’s lips and eyes before he could do something stupid. He let go of Harry quickly and took two steps back. 

“Sorry.” Eggsy said, his voice hoarse. He still couldn’t bring himself to look at Harry. 

“It’s-” Harry cleared his throat “It’s alright. It was an accident. More my fault than yours.” 

“Right. Let’s just get you home safe.” Eggsy headed for Harry’s car, which was parked along the curb outside the restaurant. He got in and nervously waited for Harry to get in, too. 

The whole ride home was awkward and silent. Eggsy closed his eyes tight so that he didn’t have to look at anything or anyone. He didn’t know what he was doing anymore. He hadn’t meant for this to happen. He wasn’t someone who developed feelings for anyone. It made Eggsy infuriated with himself. 

The two of them walked into Harry’s home together, avoiding each other’s gazes. Harry unlocked the door and pushed it open wide. Eggsy followed in behind him so that he could pick up some papers Roxy had left for him. But the second they crossed the threshold into the house, they both paused. 

“Something seem off to you?” Eggsy asked under his breath. He glanced over at Harry, who was frowning. 

“Yes. It’s too quiet.” Harry moved over to a small table and pulled out a gun from under it. Eggsy pulled out his own gun that rested against the small of his back. 

Harry signaled to the kitchen with a small gesture. Eggsy nodded, walking ahead of him towards the kitchen door. He pushed it open slowly. He first noticed Merlin and Roxy slouched over the kitchen counter. It could have been that they fell asleep there while working, but it didn’t seem likely to Eggsy. Something was definitely wrong here. 

Eggsy swept the whole room as fast as he could, finding nothing more than Roxy and Merlin. They seemed like they had been knocked out. He turned to whisper this to Harry, but the sound of someone falling to the floor sent Eggsy running back to the foyer. Harry was standing over the body of a woman dressed in all black. 

“She can’t be the only one. There are other intruders in the house. They must have knocked the guards out, too.” Harry said to him, nudging the woman with his foot. Eggsy agreed. They walked back to the kitchen determined to wake Roxy and Merlin up. 

Eggsy should have seen it coming. Scratch that. He saw it coming, but didn’t react in time. The blur of an arm moving, something heavy hitting him in the back of the head. A bright flash of pain exploded along his skull. The floor rushed up at him quickly, then everything went black. 


	6. Quiet Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gotta protect Harry.

A major headache had taken over when Eggsy woke up. It took him a few tries to fully open his eyes and lift his head up. Things kept blurring in and out of focus. Harry was sitting across from him, tied to a chair and still unconscious. There was a bruise forming along the side of Harry’s face, sparking anger inside Eggsy. They were being held captive in the library, Eggsy realized after a moment. He was tied up to a chair as well, the rope digging into his wrists uncomfortably. This wasn’t good.

“Glad to see you’re awake.” Someone said from behind Eggsy. He looked over his shoulder, spotting a woman standing by the bookshelves and leafing through a book. She was clad in all black. Eggsy couldn’t help but be reminded of when he was first in this library. 

“What the fuck do you want?” Eggsy pulled hard at the ropes but they wouldn’t loosen. 

The woman smiled, a vicious thing on her face. “We want information from Mr. Hart here.” She gestured at Harry. “He’s got a lot of money that we could find good uses for.” She looked like a Lisa. Eggsy decided to call her that in his head. 

Eggsy noticed that he had seen the gear she was wearing somewhere else. It was the same kind Eggsy used before Harry hired him. She must have come from the same group Eggsy sometimes collaborated with on harder jobs. 

He scoffed. “’Good uses’ my ass. You think I don’t know the type of person you are? You and whoever the fuck else you have with you are low-lives. You’re nothing.” Eggsy spit out the words like acid. “You steal and steal but you’re not gonna get anywhere. The same people who put you where you are will keep you down. It would take a miracle to escape your shit-hole of a life.” 

Lisa grimaced, walking over to Eggsy and hitting him hard across the face. Eggsy was dazed for a second, his ears ringing and the taste of blood filling his mouth. He grinned wolfishly. He missed this kind of action. 

“Wipe that smug grin off your face.” The intruder’s face twisted into anger and what Eggsy noticed as a bit of fear. “Me and my girls have everyone in this house captured. You don’t want to take any stupid chances with us.” 

Eggsy opened his mouth to make a retort but it snapped shut when Harry groaned. He was waking up. Lisa made her way over to Harry and stood in front of him. Eggsy quickly glanced around the room. No one else was in here yet beside the three of them. The double doors leading into the library were thrown wide open, meaning any sound would carry much further now. 

A frown formed on Eggsy’s face as he gripped the knife he had nicked off the woman hard in his hand. If there was one thing Eggsy was good at, it was pickpocketing. He began sawing at the rope around his wrists while the intruder’s back was turned. She pulled out a walkie-talkie, telling her cohorts that Harry was finally conscious. 

“What’s going on here?” Harry asked the second he was fully awake. He glanced around Lisa, seeing Eggsy for the first time. Eggsy sent a miniscule nod his way, hoping he seemed reassuring. Harry lifted his head slightly in acknowledgement and focused back on the woman in front of him. 

Eggsy listened carefully while he worked with the knife. He got that Lisa and her ‘friends’ wanted access to Harry’s accounts. He didn’t doubt that Harry had multiple accounts with a shit ton of money in them. But to expect him to give the information up so easily… It was amateur for these women to think they would be able to get anything out of Harry. Harry wouldn’t open his mouth, not for them. 

A wince escaped from Eggsy when Lisa punched Harry in the gut, but Harry didn’t make a noise. He just frowned. Eggsy let the ropes around his wrists fall to the floor quietly, moving to stand behind the woman. She froze when he put the knife to her throat. 

“You shouldn’t have underestimated us.” Eggsy said before knocking the woman out with the handle of the knife. She crumpled to the floor immediately. He cut Harry loose and used the extra rope to tie Lisa up to a chair. “We need to call the police.” 

Harry nodded. He pushed himself up from the chair exhaustedly. “There’s a phone in my office.” He sounded out of breath, which wasn’t too surprising. 

The hallway held one intruder. She was walking around slowly near the top of the stairs. Eggsy rushed over and dragged her away from the stairs quickly and silently. She went down as easy as Lisa. Eggsy and Harry entered the office, closing and locking the door behind them. 

“We need to find Rox and Merlin after we call.” Eggsy said. He picked up the phone and dialed the police. When he mentioned Harry’s name, the dispatcher seemed to change from disinterested to alert. He assured that the police would be at the house in minutes. 

The phone clicked audibly back onto the receiver in the quiet that followed the end of the call. Eggsy turned to Harry, their eyes locking from opposite ends of the desk. Harry moved swiftly over to Eggsy, his thumb wiping away a trail of blood that had escaped from Eggsy’s mouth. Eggsy stopped breathing for a moment. There was something hanging heavy between them, something Eggsy wasn’t entirely prepared to accept. 

But Harry was right there, in front of him. Eggsy traced the outline of the bruise on Harry’s face briefly, lightly, before letting one hand settle gently on his neck. “Harry, I’m sorry I let this happen. It’s my job to protect you, and I failed.” He breathed in deep, the scent of iron and Harry’s cologne merging together. 

Harry shook his head, holding Eggsy’s gaze. “No, you did nothing wrong.” It was the same soft voice he had used in the hospital. And Eggsy was leaning in towards him, all of his thoughts going out the window. 

Until there was loud banging on the stairs. Eggsy jumped and backed away from Harry, snapping back into reality. He pulled the office door open. He could hear yelling. Someone was running up the stairs, coming for Lisa or the other woman who had been at the top of the stairs. 

The new woman was tall and broad. Eggsy didn’t doubt that she could take him down if given the chance. He just wouldn’t give her that chance. The second she spotted him, she lunged at him. The metal of a gun flashed briefly as Eggsy ran forward, too. A gunshot resounded next to his ear as he deflected her arm to point up at the ceiling. The bullet shattered a light, glass raining down around the two of them. 

Eggsy ducked down when she swung her arm back down in an arc. He could feel the air whooshing past the top of his head. He took that opportunity to stab her in the thigh. The woman yelped, grabbing at her leg. There was another gunshot, not from her gun. The intruder collapsed to the floor, clasping her stomach. Eggsy glanced over his shoulder at Harry. He had his gun out by his side. He looked just as deadly and elegant as the first time Eggsy had met him. 

“She already fired _her_ gun.” Harry shrugged. “Anyone else in the house would have heard it.” 

Someone was knocking on the front door, and voices echoed through the girls’ walkie-talkies. It seemed they had noticed that police were at the door. Eggsy stood up straight, wincing when his head burst out into a new bout of pain. He sighed in relief when the police burst in through the door, their guns pulled out. 

*** 

It took all of five minutes before the group of women who had broken into Harry’s house were rounded up into handcuffs and police cars. Questions were asked, sometimes repeated, and Eggsy answered them over and over. Eggsy had never seen the police move this fast for anyone who wasn’t rich. He spotted Roxy and Merlin sitting in the back of an ambulance, a safety blanket wrapped around their shoulders. Eggsy made sure they were alright before searching around for Harry. 

Harry was sitting on the top stair leading up to the house. He looked just as rumpled and tired as Eggsy felt. Eggsy sat next to him, cracking his knuckles nervously. He stared at the side of Harry’s face, trying to work out what to say to avoid embarrassment for almost kissing him earlier. 

“Guess the law really is on the side of the posh twats, huh?” Eggsy half-joked. He hoped to glaze over any awkwardness he could. 

Harry was looking at him with a searching expression now, though, and anything Eggsy had been about to say disappeared from thought. 

Harry placed a hand on Eggsy’s cheek. Eggsy’s eyes fluttered closed, and he leaned into his hand. Everything from the past few months came crashing down on Eggsy, his chest suddenly tight. He just wanted to lie under a blanket and ignore the world around him for a while. 

“May I kiss you?” Harry was saying, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. 

Alright, so maybe not ignore _everything_. Eggsy opened his eyes. His tongue darted out to lick his lips as he nodded. Harry nodded, too. Then he leaned in, his lips brushing against Eggsy’s tenderly. Eggsy reached out and tangled his fingers in Harry’s hair, pulling on it lightly. Their kiss deepened, and Eggsy had never felt so complete. The feeling of Harry’s lips on his was nothing like Eggsy had ever experienced. It tasted like blood, sure. Eggsy was also pretty sure his headache was going to split his head open. But none of that mattered right now. All that mattered was that Harry was kissing him, and made the most amazing noise whenever he pulled hard enough on his hair. 

Eggsy hadn’t realized all the pent up stress and tension that had gone along with his feelings for Harry. But now it all seemed to fade into the background. His only thought was _Harry_. Harry was kissing him. All this time, and it was actually happening. It didn’t feel like a dream. It didn’t even feel surreal. It felt real. Grounding. 

Harry pulled back first, his thumb brushing along Eggsy’s jaw. They were both panting, even bigger messes than before. Harry was so beautiful right now. He always was, of course, but the fact that Eggsy had managed to turn him red in the face and the lips churned something inside him. A fire, it seemed like. 

“Thought you’d never work up the courage to ask.” Eggsy joked, a grin forming on his face. 

Harry huffed out a laugh and let his forehead rest against Eggsy’s. “If the next thing you say is about me becoming your sugar daddy, I’ll make the police arrest you.” 

Eggsy chuckled, placing a chaste kiss to Harry’s lips. “But I had so many good jokes stored up.” 


	7. We End Where We Began

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoa hey, long time no see. I would have updated this much sooner but life decided to get in the way. I just want to say thank you so much for sticking around long enough to read this whole thing. It's been a pleasure, and hopefully it's alright that the last chapter is a bit shorter.

It had been two years since Harry had first kissed Eggsy. Two years of shy beginnings and hesitant touches between them turning into love. Eggsy had said that word first. He hadn’t meant to say it. It just slipped out, falling from his lips in a quiet moment in Harry’s office. Had long had they even been together at that point? Three months? Four?

It didn’t really matter. Eggsy hadn’t even realized how strong his feelings for the other man were until he had said he loved Harry. He might have panicked for a few seconds after, not sure how Harry would respond. 

Harry had just frozen, face stuck in a half-formed smile for a moment. Then, he reached out and gripped Eggsy’s hand gently. 

“I love you, too.” Tender words, a fond look on his face. Harry had said it, too. 

And Eggsy would be lying if he stated that it didn’t make his heart skip a beat. Because there they were, Eggsy perched on the edge of Harry’s desk, Harry holding his hand and gazing up at him affectionately. It was almost unreal. Eggsy never thought he would be able to have this, have _them_. After all, he had only been a thief to Harry when they had first met. 

Now, though, the words ‘I love you’ came easily and naturally. Spoken without a second’s thought. 

Eggsy’s mom and sister still lived in the apartment they had moved into after getting away from Dean. It was home to all three of them at this point. But Eggsy had moved in with Harry not too long ago. Thankfully, his mom already had a good impression of Harry when they had met in the hospital, so it wasn’t difficult to announce their relationship to her. Eggsy also came clean about his job as a bodyguard. She didn’t seem too surprised, saying she suspected that he hadn’t been just a random employee in Harry’s company. 

Speaking of employment, Eggsy was not employed anymore. Harry had pretty much fired him about a year into their relationship. It would have been sooner, Eggsy knows, if Eggsy hadn’t been so stubborn about keeping the job. The new bodyguard was trained well enough, and Eggsy made sure to keep him on his toes at all time. 

Everything was falling into place smoothly. It almost made Eggsy anxious. Nothing ever went this easy for him. Something about Harry made him feel more at ease, though. They were here, together, in the present. 

*** 

“You know,” Eggsy began, elbows propped up on the kitchen counter, “since you pay for everything, even my mom’s apartment, this _kind of_ officially makes you a sugar daddy.” 

Harry choked on his water briefly before setting the glass back on the countertop. “I don’t- I am not-” 

Laughter bubbled up from Eggsy’s throat. “It’s too easy to make you flustered.” He grabbed Harry’s tie and pulled him in close. “But I like that about you. It’s endearing.” The corner of Eggsy’s mouth quirked up as he leaned in to kiss Harry. 

Harry smiled into the kiss, letting the moment drag on for a few seconds. Then he pulled back, planting a quick kiss on Eggsy’s forehead. “Before I go into work, there’s something I want to show you.” 

One of Eggsy’s eyebrows raised, but he nodded. Harry interlaced their fingers and led him up towards the library. He spotted Merlin and Roxy by the doors, mulling over something on a tablet. When he and Harry approached them, they looked up and acknowledged them. Roxy grinned brightly at both of them, and winked at Harry. Merlin just gave a staunch nod to them both. 

A question was poised on the edge of Eggsy’s lips, but Harry dragged him into the library before he could speak. Roxy shut the doors behind them, waggling her fingers excitedly at Eggsy before they closed fully. 

“She seems… happy.” Eggsy said, trying to see if Harry knew what was up. 

“Yes, quite.” Harry cleared his throat, dropping Eggsy’s hand. “So, ah, this is where we first met. It seems like ages ago, but I still remember it fairly clearly.” 

“Yeah, me, too.” Eggsy tilted his head to one side. “Harry, what’s up?” 

Harry adjusted his tie nervously. “You know how I told you about the safe in here?” He waited for Eggsy to nod, then continued. “Well, I wanted to let you know what’s in it.” 

Eggsy’s eyes widened a fraction, then narrowed. “I swear, if there’s actually nothing in it, I’m gonna be pretty upset.” 

“It would be pretty good revenge for all the ‘sugar daddy’ jabs.” Harry smirked. Eggsy swatted at him as he went up to a bookshelf and pulled a book out. The bookshelf next to him swung out. Harry took out a key from his jacket pocket, which Eggsy tried to swipe from him. But Harry kept it away from him, kneeling in front of the safe to unlock it. A turned key, a few spins on the combination lock in the center of the metal safe, and then a click as it opened. 

Harry pushed the safe door open all the way. He reached in, shuffling around inside for something. When he found what he was looking for, he let a small exclamation out, but didn’t pull whatever it was out just yet. 

“Well?” Eggsy asked, getting a bit impatient. He just wanted to know what secret Harry was keeping locked away in this safe. 

Harry turned his head to him. “Well. This first belonged to my great grandmother, and it’s been passed down from then. I treasure this, but… not as much as I treasure you.” He pulled back from the safe, maneuvering until he was on one knee in front of Eggsy and oh shit was this really happening? 

“Gary Unwin,” Harry began (and oh shit it really was happening), “will you marry me?” In his hand, he held a small box that contained a gorgeous gold diamond ring. It sparkled in the library’s light, lovelier than anything Eggsy had ever laid eyes on. 

Eggsy was pretty sure he was wheezing unattractively now. Harry Hart was asking to marry him. “Yes. God, yes, Harry, I will marry you.” 

A grin overtook Harry’s stupidly handsome face. He placed the ring on Eggsy’s extended hand before standing and embracing him. 

“Did he say ‘yes’?” Roxy shouted from across the room. 

Eggsy laughed. “Yes, I said ‘yes’.” 

Roxy clapped, and Merlin appeared beside her, wiping his brow with his sleeve. “Thank goodness.” He said, clearly relieved. “I don’t think I could have handled the rejection.” 

Harry took Eggsy’s chin in his hand, kissing him softly. All of Eggsy’s anxiety seemed to flood from him at once. This was real. This was happening. He loved Harry, and Harry loved him. And that was all he really needed. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
